Games
by NightcoreDust
Summary: That's all it was, back then. All it was to him. I hated it with half of my heart. The other half I have carried with me, as I realize that normal life is not all as glamorous as it seems, and just how far I'm willing to go to escape this mundane hell to reclaim what I once had. Just how far I'll go to play another game.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Part one: "Could You Really Help Me?"

I stared out the window, my face reflected in the glass by the moon's eerie glow. I looked out to, or rather past, the sky, hopeful that someday they would come for me. It'd been five years since that day. Five years since my twelve-year old self quit the Mew Mews, smiling as normality once again made it's place in her life. With no powers and no means of contacting anyone who did, it seemed like a fantasy. But I knew too well that appearances could be deceiving. Who would have thought Aoyama to be the Blue Knight? Or Kisshu my valiant hero? I never forgot the moment, when Deep Blue attacked and the idiot Cyniclon defended me at his own expense, and the disconcerting relief I felt when he was revived. After that, he just kissed me and left. I couldn't handle it- I was only twelve years old, a naive human child with a longing for all that was normal. If I could do it all over, I would be his, and all the fighting would never have happened.

Nowadays, my life was a bore. I rose, stretched on an ugly blue sailor uniform, and grabbed some toast. Then, I walked 10 miles out of my way to feed homeless cats.

Yes, homeless cats. Even after relinquishing the feline powers, I found that I could still communicate with them. Once they realized I spoke their language, they knew who to beg. What I would do for one day without a litter of them clawing at the doorsteps. On many occasions my father would call private detectives (and even the police a time or two) to find out why.

After an hour of speaking with my furry friends (who better to keep secrets), I would head on over to the local school, Fiji High. At age seventeen, I was finally in my Junior year. I still didn't know what I wanted to be once I graduated. Sometimes I wondered if I was even meant for this world. I regretted my decision to quit the Mew Mews, severing all ties to my former life. After the incident, the cafe disappeared, and my old teammates seemed to have vanished with it. When I asked their relatives, they simply shook their heads and said they ran away. I didn't know why they would, though. Was my knowing their secret that dangerous? Was I that dangerous? It was all obviously Ryou's doing. He was always so… My face flushed red in anger.

And what of the aliens? Did they restore their new planet, Cyniclon, with the Mew Aqua? Were they safe? Did they ever reminisce on those days, as I did now? Did… Did Kisshu ever think of me? The last thought came with a surprise. I knew I liked Kisshu, even though it's been so many years, but I didn't think I was head over heels for him. It's just complicated.

These thoughts haunted my fragile mind every passing day. I wanted to find them. I wanted to find the Mews. I wanted to find the aliens.

"I want my old life back!" I screamed as I kicked the dirt. People stared, but I didn't mind. I'd been the center of attention before. It's nothing new.

After sitting in a classroom for eight hours, I walked the same path home. I completed all of my assignments, I ate dinner, I showered, and then my cat detectives reported back any information they found concerning Ryou, Cyniclons, or otherwise involving the Mews. I scanned through every lead, investigated several wild goose chases, and then returned to sleep. This cycle had ran for three years (it wasn't until I turned fifteen that I realized what I had). And it may continue eternally. Or it may end very soon. But, it will most likely continue eternally.

"Today, class, we have a new student. Everyone, please welcome Dren Ikisatashi." (AN: In this fanfic she doesn't know his last name. She also doesn't know his dubbed name. Kisshu is in disguise.)

In walked a handsome male with long, shaggy, black hair and entrancing golden eyes. He looked familiar, but I couldn't pinpoint where I remembered him from.

"Dren, you will sit next to Ichigo. Ichigo, please raise your hand so that the transfer will know where he should be. We hope you will like it here at Fiji High. You behave yourself, now." The teacher strolled over to the front of the classroom to resume teaching.

Dren, as the teacher had introduced him, was very attractive indeed. Not that Kisshu had lost any appeal, but he was very worthy of a former Mew's attention. And that was saying a lot, considering I had saved the world once or twice. I caught myself staring at him, and quickly switched my attention back to the lesson: Calculus. I heard a shifting of papers to my right and looked over find a note neatly scrawled onto a small tear of folded paper. Dren gave a slight nod of his head, signaling for me to read it. I unfolded the note to read: _What does your schedule say?_

I tore off some of my own paper: _Why do you want to know?_

He handed me a schedule and mouthed:_ What classes do we have together?_

I shook my head, looking over it, and grabbed my pen. _Well, we both have Calculus, Chemistry, and English together. Then theres lunch and Acting III. Other than that, nothing. Unless you happen to volunteer at the local tree-hugging club? _I joked. Dren raised an eyebrow to this. _Oh, well, see you th-_

"Note-passing on your first day here, Mr. Ikisatashi? This is rather unbecoming of you. You, too, Momomiya. You will both serve after school detention tomorrow. I sighed. She could've done worse. Mrs. Honda isn't exactly known for her kindness. Then again, neither is she known for her supervision of detention. She usually just left the student(s) in the classroom and returned thirty minutes later to make them leave her room. I looked at Dren. He was smiling.

_Well, that's weird._ I thought.

As soon the last bell rang, and I was dismissed from History, I climbed the stairs to room 329, where I would spend my detention in the Calculus room. Peeking inside, I caught a glimpse of Dren already there, grinning at me. I glared. How dare he beat me here!

"Why, you…" I felt a storm surging around my head, and Dren's face paled. "I can't believe you!" I sat in the seat to the left of him, practicing the arrangement from class as was expected by our teachers. "And what was with that grin on your face? Huh?"

"Oh, nothing." He smirked. "It's just that your skirt does nothing to hide your underwear."

"P-pervert!" A loud slap was followed by several loud echoes throughout the third floor. I returned to my notebook on leads. Normally I would eliminate what I knew to be false hunts at home, but with detention, I was short on time.

"Anyway," Dren's face regained it's natural color, "What's that you're jotting down?"

"Nothing," I moved to put the notebook away; he was faster.

"GIVE. ME. MY. NOTEBOOK!" I fought him for it. He kept it just out of arm's reach.

"Let's see here. Mew Mew Cafe… Blah blah blah… Ryou… Blah Blah Blah… Aliens… What the hell is this?!" He raised his brow to me. I blushed.

"I already told you- it's nothing! Just some leads," I mumbled the last part to myself. He didn't buy it. I quit.

"Fine. Five years ago, my friend went missing," I caught my breath. "Those are all the leads I have found as of now."

"You've been looking for him all this time? Call it a hunch, but that's not something most people would do. And what about this 'Aliens' BS?" He cornered me.

"I'm rather desperate to find him… He… was my boyfriend!" I insisted, hoping he would accept my answer. "Yeah! W-We had been together since we were little, so of course I would look for him," I clenched my teeth. Maybe it was just me, but I could have sworn that, for a moment, Dren became downcast. _Disappointed,_ even.

"Is that so…" His eyes darkened, before meeting mine. My frame stilled. "Very well then. I will assist you in finding your… boyfriend."

"Really?" Came out my parted lips with a squeak. Maybe I did have a chance. Even a snowball's chance in hell was brighter than mine alone. "Will you really help me?"

Dren grinned. "For a price. At the end of this journey, be it two years or ten, I will expect a favor. It doesn't matter at the moment what favor, so long as I have your word that you will grant me one of my choosing after it is all said and done."

I held out my hand to shake his. "It's a deal."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

AN: In this fanfiction, Tokyo Mew Mew a la Mode never happened.

"What… Was… That?" I managed between pants as I ducked for cover underneath the awning of a small brick building that may have once been a shop. Oh, well, it was about to be blown to smithereens. Around me I saw the blaring lights of trains. Businessmen rushed to board flights, and late night workers scrambled to their homes in spite of the light traffic. Sniffing around, I blanched at the realization that three streets away was the city dump, and made note not to head into that direction.

"I don't… Know…" We ran for what seemed like hours until Dren was convinced that we had lost our pursuers, dodging people and obstacles alike. Most of what was in our way was stop signs and garbage. Yes, my nose was just having the time of it's life. Gritty sand covered my face and sidewalk painfully scraped against my shin as I tripped, quickly making an effort to get to my feet.

"Sorry! Please excuse us! Out of the way! Sorry!" I offered to the poor pedestrians caught in the way. Finally, we rested by an old pine tree in an abandoned park. My body was killing me, and I could guess Dren was experiencing a similar discomfort. In case any passers by are wondering what the hell just happened, why two teenagers are out at this time, or why there is a giant monster chasing them like free dog treats, they can blame my mentally deranged cats, who thought it would be a good idea to convince me there were alien sightings in my own city. If anyone were to point fingers, they could single out Lauraline. I rushed halfway across town in the dead of the night to explain to my newfound friend, Dren, that I had heard rumors of aliens in the Shinjuku area of Tokyo, and subsequently took five buses and a taxi to arrive in the general area of the sighting. We had found that, instead of an alien, the sighting was of a Parasite (which, now that I thought about it, technically was one; but that's irrelevant). My dormant Mew genes triggered it to fuse with a wild bull from the traveling circus, _Magic Tricks._ How convenient was that? It couldn't have fused with something less bulky and violent? And as luck would have it, neither I, nor Dren had any powers (to the best of my knowledge). Still, we marched on. Dren didn't seem to mind, which was unusual in itself, but what I didn't understand was how he had managed to sense exactly where the monster was! Why was _I _always left out of the loop? Oh, and did I mention that terrible screeching noise the Chimera Anima had oh so wonderfully constructed? It made it it's purpose to irreparably damage my eardrums. The monster had become some sort of two headed, four legged, mutant bull with freaking _lasers _firing out it's eye sockets.

"Does this, by chance, happen to involve your _boyfriend?" _Inquired Dren as we went over the details of what had just occurred.

I hesitated, "Well, in my notebook, I didn't exactly eliminate the possibility of an alien abduction. That's why I brought you along."

"And what good did you think I would be in this situation?" Dren sweatdropped.

"Well… I expected something a little smaller…" I admitted, not used to facing aliens without superpowers.

"Shh… I sense it coming. It knows we're here… Shit." Dren took a quick peek behind the tree before jerking my hand and taking to the hills.

"Hey! Where are we going!" He remained silent, stealthily darting left and right. Behind us, I heard an explosion from the general area in which we were sitting just a few seconds earlier. He may have just saved my life, but he could have given a little warning. Okay, maybe not. A quick _zwip _later and the world started appearing distorted, like rippling water. Nausea quickly swept over me, and we found ourselves several feet behind the bull-like creature. Suddenly, Dren's eyes widened considerably. "Was that you?" I asked him, now suspicious.

"No…" His eyes narrowed at me. With more important matters at hand, we mutually concurred through some silent conversation to ignore what had just occurred. The poor Chimera looked mortified. First, it was chasing two humans, and then they just vanished! "Don't move." Dren ordered. The monster roared and doubled over in pain, slowly collapsing. Next thing I knew, the animal returned to normal and a harmless looking Parasite floated out. I didn't know why it did that, but my mother told me never to look a gift horse in the mouth, so I didn't.

"This is probably what caused the animal to transform." declared Dren. _No duh,_ I thought. "The question is: What do we do with it?"

"If we leave it here, it may infect another poor animal, maybe even someone's pet," I said.

"No, it looks pretty weak. I'd give it an hour, tops. It'll just die out," Kisshu replied.

"If you say so," I agreed, still unconvinced that the Parasite would really 'just die out' as Dren claimed it would. On the other hand, if I let it free and it caused trouble again, Ryou would find it, and I would find him.

It was a long ride home, but at least I had the comfort of Dren walking me there from the bus stop. We parted, and as we did, I couldn't help but feel that something was missing. It wasn't me, no, but there was something in the way Dren walked, the way Dren talked, and even the atmosphere around him that conveyed feelings of longing and confusion, love and grief, and I knew instinctively that it was directed towards me.

"Dren…" I struggled. "Thank you."

He smiled, "You're very welcome." Then he left for his own apartment. Reaching up, I felt an unusual moisture on my cheeks. For the longest time I stood on before the driveway, unmoving, until the porch lights grew dim and Dren's slim figure faded from my view. I breathed in a peace I hadn't in many years, and wished this fateful night would never end.

I remembered how unusual it was; the Chimera Anima just weakened to the point it separated into the two components it came from. Last I checked, only another alien had control of a Parasite or it's host. And only an alien could teleport. The only ones present were me and Dren, so one of us must have been an alien.

_It's not me… _I thought, _so it's definitely him._ Dren _was_ oddly at ease with the situation, and was handling it in a very professional manner. If I didn't know better, I'd say he was experienced, what with his cool demeanor and calculating approach to what was going on. It even reminded me of Ryou, who, on the day I became a Mew calmly jumped with incredible agility from tree to tree, all so I could defeat the rat Chimera on my own. With his grace, I sometimes wondered why he even needed us Mews. But then, With the powers the aliens had, in the back of my mind I was always puzzled as to how Earth defeated them. All of the odds were against us, and, considering the Earth belonged to them first, they were in their right to take it away from the humans, who had treated their former home so terribly. Then again, it had been millions of years since they were last here, so it belonged to us now. All in all, it was fair game. The Earth should belong to those who love it enough to fight for it. Without us Mews, who were there to protect our beloved planet, our race would have surely perished.

Of course, if Dren wanted me to know what he was, he would have told me. I should wait before confronting him about it. Hopefully, he'll come out and tell me himself.

"What is wrong with me? I'd better get inside before my parents notice I'm gone." I murmured, bewildered by the salty drops still making their way down past my neck. Unknown to me, eyes followed my every move, making sure that everything went according to plan.


End file.
